Rogers – After a devasting loss to Little Rock Central in last season’s state tournament, the Conway girls have been on a mission this season. They moved a step closer to completing that mission Saturday with an emphatic 66-38 victory over the Lady Tigers in the semifinals of the 6A state basketball tournament.

The Lady Wampus Cats will now face fellow 6A-Central foe in next week’s state championship game in Hot Springs.

“We got through what we went through last year, and most girls don’t make it through that — They would have given up,” Conway head coach Ashley Hutchcraft said. “But these girls have stuck together. That was a horrible loss, but they came back this year and I put them through the wringer on our schedule. We have played a lot of nationally-ranked teams and I think that showed today.” 

Conway and Central had already split the regular-season series. The Lady Wampus Cats’ only conference loss this season was a two-point defeat at Central on Jan. 17.

“Yeah, we had a little coming-to-Jesus meeting after that one,” Hutchcraft said with a sly grin. “After you have to run a lot, things tend to change.”

Conway came back to defeat the Lady Tigers 68-39 in the return match-up at home on Feb. 14, leading to the rubber match in the semis.

“I honestly felt like this was our peeking moment of the year,” Hurchcraft said. “We’ve been talking about that since last year, just peeking at the right time. And Savannah looked like an SEC post player today, and when she’s doing that, it makes the outside shots so much easier. So, just super proud of all of them.”

Savannah Scott, the 6-foot-4 senior center, had her way in the paint early in the game. With the guards feeding her the ball inside, Scott score 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter, as Conway jumped out to a 22-12 lead.

“I knew I just had to do my thing and go to work,” Scott said. “I was able to free our shooters up, so we were able to get a lot of outside shots later in the game. They were too busy trying to collapse on me, so I had to do my job early.

“Most of the girls I play against are much smaller, so I just use my body and my hips to get position and then just keep the ball up high.”

Central was able to hold all-state senior Chloe Clardy to just three points in the first half – before she finished with a season-low, nine – but her teammates picked up the slack to keep things rolling. Clardy, a Stanford University commit, is the top-ranked player in the state and No. 8, nationally. She had a game-high 22 in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over Fayetteville, but the Lady Tigers stacked the defsne against her Saturday.

“That’s the difference between us this year and last year,” Hutchcraft said. “We were kind of one-dimensional with Chloe last year – if she doesn’t score 30 then we don’t win. That was not fair to her to carry that burden all year long. We knew we couldn’t be so one-dimensional this year, because we have so many good players and we needed to get them more involved. That is something that we have really worked on.”

Sophomore Samyah Jordan was brilliant from the field for the Lady Cats, draining three shots from beyond the arc to close with a game-high 16 points. But it was Scott who continued to bang inside and free up the Conway shooters.

“Savannah is just in such a good place right now,” Hutchcraft said. “She is really dialed in and making so big-time moves, rebounding, scoring. You can’t coach 6-4, so when we are able to get it to her early, it opens up our outside shot. And we can shoot it, so that helps.”

Senior Kamille Brown also hit a trio of 3-pointers in the game to finish with 13 for the Lady Cats., who led by 20 at the halftime break.

Junior Jordan Marshall continued to battle for Central, ending with a team-high 15 points.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK 60, CABOT 54

The underdog Cabot girls got the early momentum Saturday in the semifinals of the 6A state basketball tournament, but down the stretch it was North Little Rock who was able to surge ahead in a 60-54 win over the Lady Panthers.

The Lady Charging Wildcats were the No. 2 seed from the 6A-Central, while Cabot was the fourth-seed. The Lady Panthers had already defeated West Conference foes, Rogers Heritage and top-seed Bentonville, in the first two rounds of the tournament.

The two teams exchanged buckets through the first quarter Saturday, as North Little Rock clung to a 14-13 lead after one. But junior guard Jenna Cook hit a pair of threes to lead Cabot on a 19-11 second-quarter run that sent the Lady Panthers to the locker room with a 32-25 advantage. Cook finished with three 3 -points in the game for a team high 20 points.

Senior April Edwards proved to be the workhorse for the Lady Wildcats throughout, also connecting on a trio of 3-pointers to pile up a game-high 29 points.

North Little Rock outscored Cabot by four in the third quarter to cut the lead to three. The Lady Wildcats then finished the game on a 22-13 fourth quarter run to put the game away.

They will now advance to next week’s state championship game to face top-seeded Conway in Hot Springs.

  Conway – A storied era in Central Arkansas women’s head basketball ended Saturday when head coach Sandra Rushing stepped away from the program she has led for the past 11 years.

    Rushing finished with 184 career victories at UCA, the second-most in school history, and has won 587 games over her stellar 34-year head coaching career. Rushing took the Sugar Bears to the NCAA National Tournament twice in 2016 and 2017 and finished second in the 2018 WBI postseason tournament, falling at home to Yale.

    Rushing’s teams won the Southland Conference regular season in 2016 and 2017, putting together a combined 54-9 record during that span. They set the UA NCAA Division I record with 28 victories in 2015-16, which tied the overall mark for single-season wins.

    “I want to thank UCA and Dr. (Brad) Teague for their support over the years,” said Rushing. “I will always value the relationships formed at this university.  The last few years have been very challenging and stressful as I have been torn between my obligations here at UCA and my mom’s health issues.

    “I feel it is time for me to step away and take care of my top priority. I wish nothing but the best for UCA and the Sugar Bears’ program.”

    Rushing, who played collegiately at Alabama and was a four-time SEC All-Academic selection, missed eight games this season, seven during ASUN play, while caring for her mother. UCA concluded its 2022-23 season this week.

    Rushing coached previously at Delta State, Henderson State, UTEP and Millsaps. At Delta State from 2002-12, Rushing was the league’s Coach of the Year a record-setting six times and was named Coach of the Decade in 2010 while taking the Lady Statesmen to eight NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Final Four in consecutive years in 2008 and 2009.

    “I want to thank Coach Rushing for her many years of dedication to our program,” said Teague, who also worked with Rushing at Delta State. “She took our program to new heights with her NCAA tournament appearances. She has been a head coach for 34 years and is someone I truly admire and respect. We are happy that she will be able to take better care of her mother now.”

    UCA will begin an immediate search for a new head coach for the women’s basketball program.  

By Jennifer Golston

Morrilton – There is a new kid on the block in travel basketball and if their fall program was any indication they will be just the jolt that Central Arkansas needed.

D.E.B.S. (stands for Developing Education Beyond Sports) Elite Basketball is the brainchild of Director Mark Rico – a former professional player and now budding Athletic Director who understands that basketball must be a “year-round adventure” for any player who aspires to play at the next level.

The program is still in its infancy stages but Rico and his crew have already begun to set the stage for the players in their program to be successful.

“I moved here a few years ago and as a basketball coach and fan, was pretty disappointed at the amount of serious basketball teams and players in Arkansas. It was very top-heavy. Basically, there were only a handful of programs that were really serious about participating in a continuous basis.” Rico said. “Most of them just played when they could or win softball had a rare break. No knock to softball, but for the kids who are passionate about basketball, it left something to be desired.”

So, after a successful two-year stint with another local AAU team in the area, Rico – who is currently pursuing a master’s in education – decided to forge ahead in making his dream a reality by bringing year-round basketball to the Natural State.

“We had so many people tell us that you don’t know how much we have been waiting for something like this. My child plays softball but her heart is in basketball and they would play it 12 months out of the year if they could.” said Rico, with a grin.

That was music to the ears of the former post player, who toiled in countries such as Turkey, South Korea and Italy before a serious knee injury sidelined him for good in 2009.

From there, Rico knew he wanted to stay around the game and mentor up-and-coming players in his native Texas where he eventually began his own AAU organization – Alamo City Ambassadors after helping out other AAU teams over the next few years.

His new organization would secure seven out of nine tournaments in his first and only full season – including an Elite Eight finish at a National Tournament in Dallas in 2018.

But as they prepared for a second season, Rico and his wife decided to relocate after his father-in-law became ill. Although the decision was a no-brainer, Rico knew that his mission wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t give it a go in his wife’s home state.

“It was pretty apparent that this was what I was born to do even though I don’t always love the stress it brings.” said Rico. “I grew up with a single mother so I basically grew up in the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club atmosphere. I understand how important it is to have someone that has lived what you are living to help guide you through those personable years. I am not perfect but I always try to be that mentor that I had growing up.”

Rico started to put his plan in motion soon after the horn had sounded from the final tournament from his previous organization had ended.

“We literally left the court at Hoop Play Nationals (where they lost in championship game) and headed right over to start practicing for the fall program.” laughed Rico. “We were so excited to get started with our vision on our terms.”

That’s where Dawg House Basketball – a well established training program based in Little Rock – came in.

Rico stumbled upon a few training videos that were posted by the program’s owner Chris Davis – and it struck a chord with him almost immediately.

“I knew right away from the videos that he was a very detailed trainer – which is something that is rare at the youth level – but what really stood out was the fact that he actually pulled over and did an “on the spot” training session with a couple of kids who were playing at a playground during a cold winter afternoon.” Rico said. “I knew then he was my guy. Anyone who would do something so selfless and spontaneous had to have his heart in the right place. He’s a huge, huge part of what we are trying to do and our players, parents and coaches all swear by him.”

Davis himself is also a former professional player but has worked with a host of amateur and well-known NBA and WNBA players.

This past weekend, DEBS Elite held their first “showcase” for their elementary and middle school girls. The exhibition round-robin tournament was a culmination of the training they have embarked on over the last few months and what Rico hopes will give them a head start on getting ready for the upcoming school season.

“The great group of girls who chose to take part in fall workouts will be all the better for it.” said Rico. “We are setting the groundwork for their future. My coaches and I will be attending as many of their school games as we can. Each and every player deserves support from their coaches and director. We will be that presence.”

The organization began its Boys Fall program two weeks ago and hopes to field three boys teams in addition to their seven girls teams that are scheduled to begin play in the Spring of 2022.

The plan according to Rico, is to make sure that all of his Elite players have the chance to play top notch competition with college scouts in attendance.

“I don’t believe in handicapping players who have a gift in playing this game.” Rico said. “They deserve the right to be challenged and given and chance to be seen, no matter how old they are. And I believe that with the level of training that they will get along with the experienced, strong support staff we have, it will be great to see where they are in a year or two. But parents have to trust the process and understand that basketball is a seven day a week job if you want to play at the next level.”

Not only will DEBS Elite teams appear in some of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, Rico wants to make sure that his players develop themselves both on and off the court.

“We will do mandatory community service projects each month as an organization, we will challenge our kids and also hold them accountable in the classroom.” said Rico.

To contact Rico for a tryout or for more information e-mail him at DebsEliteBasketball@gmail.com

2022 D.E.B.S. ELITE COACHING ROSTER:

3rd/4th Grade Girls – Mariah Jeffcoat

5th/6th Grade ELITE Girls – Shawn Morris

5th/6th SELECT Girls – Marvin Hall

7th/8th Grade Girls – Mariah Jeffcoat

7th Grade SELECT Girls – Mark Rico

9th Grade Girls SELECT – TBA

9th Grade Girls NATIONAL – Mark Rico

High School Girls NATIONAL – Marvin Hall, Kaneitra Curtis

3rd/4th Grade Boys – Damian Wright

5th/6th Grade SELECT Boys – Christian Kelley

7th/8th Grade Boys – Cobey Pintado

High School Boys – Cobey Pintado

Conway – Central Arkansas found the cure what ailed them after the first two weekends of football in the span of a quarter of football in their 2021 home opener.

All it took was three consecutive touchdown drives coupled with an early Arkansas-Pine Bluff turnover that sent the Bears to an early lead that they never relinquished in a relatively easy 45-23 rout of the Golden Lions in front of an overflow crowd on Saturday night at Estes Stadium.

Fifth year senior Braylin Smith got on track early as Chris Richmond, Sam Camargo and Tobias Enlow all hauled in short touchdown passes just before the game was halted for thirty minutes just before halftime due to lightning strikes in the area.

The No. 24 ranked Bears settled for a 28-9 halftime lead, thanks in part to Smith, who tied his career high in just thirty minutes of action. In the victory, Smith completed his first 15 passes to break the school record of 14 straight held by his head coach Nathan Brown (2007) and Brian Stallworth (2001).

Smith, who finished 31-of-42 passing for 329 yards, overcame a pair of interceptions on consecutive possessions in the third quarter to lead the Bears on two fourth-quarter touchdowns drives that sealed the victory.

It was UCA’s 11th consecutive win over UAPB, as they improved to 11-2 in the overall series.

“I was pleased with our team,’ said Brown. “Bottom line is, we came out hot. If you look at the possession time, I think we held the ball for 13 minutes in the first quarter, turned them over on special teams play and I think their one possession in the first quarter was a three and out. (So) we were up 21-0 before we blinked. And that’s what set the tone of the game. I was really pleased to see our team respond that way.”

The Bears, who lost a shootout at No. 24 Missouri State last Saturday, rolled up a season-high 456 yards of total offense and held the ball for nearly 38 minutes, including a whopping 13:24 in the first quarter.

UCA also converted 12 of 17 third-down situations and held UAPB starter Skyler Perry to just 1-of-10 passing on third down.

UCA senior placekicker Hayden Ray nailed a 32-yard field goal early in the third quarter to push UCA’s lead to 31-9 before UAPB mounted its comeback. The Golden Lions (1-1) turned the back-to-back interceptions into touchdowns, the second was a 49-yard pick-six by Andre Fuller that got UAPB within one score at 31-23 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

But UCA freshman running back Darius Hale added a pair of short touchdowns runs over the final 7:50 to seal the win. Hale, from Pearland, Texas, led the Bears with 76 yards on 19 carries, with fellow freshman Trysten Smith adding 59 yards on 15 attempts. Former UCA Bears Kierre Crossley, a graduate transfer at UAPB, led the Golden Lions with 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just seven carries.

“They (UAPB) showed a tremendous amount of fight to continue playing,’ said Brown. “And I didn’t think we handled the lightning delay and halftime very well at all. The third quarter showed it because they got after us. It was unfortunate how we played there but I thought we responded well in the fourth quarter. To win the fourth quarter, basically 14-0, was huge. We had our backs against the wall, it got to a one-possession game. And our guys responded, and that’s what you expect good teams to do. And I still think we have a good football team.”

Defensively, UCA was very good, holding UAPB to 308 total yards of offense, with quarterback Skyler Perry completing just 13 of 32 for 173 yards. UCA junior Deandre Lamont filled up his stat sheet with five tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and blocked point after. Senior linebacker Trenton Dunn led the Bears with a career-high 13 tackles and forced the fumble the Lamont recovered.

Richmond, Winningham, Hudson and Enlow all combined for 23 receptions for 275 yards.

UCA continues its homestand next Saturday, hosting defending FCS national champion Sam Houston.

The Bears and Sam Houston are familiar foes since the Southland Conference and have staged some classic battles since 2006.

    CONWAY – The University of Central Arkansas signed Dreshaun Doyne to a national letter of intent to play basketball for the Bears, according to head coach Anthony Boone.   

    Doyne, a 6-foot-8, 200-pounder from Maumelle, Arkansas, played previously at Southern California Academy as a senior and at Maumelle High School in both his sophomore and junior campaigns.

Doyne averaged 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots a game as a senior.

    “Dreshaun is incredible on the glass and has a lot of potential of being a great versatile player for the Bears,’ said Boone.

Conway – The University of Central Arkansas Bears will embark on their first 16-game ASUN Conference basketball schedule beginning in early January.

    The Bears, after 15 seasons in the Southland Conference, will have a whole new slate of conference opponents when the 2021-22 season gets underway on Thursday, Jan. 6. UCA opens on the road, playing at Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky.

    The Bears will compete in the ASUN West Division alongside fellow newcomers EKU and Jacksonville State, along with North Alabama, Lipscomb and Bellarmine. The East Division will consist of Kennesaw State, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, North Florida, Stetson and Liberty.

    Each team will play its divisional schools twice (home and away) and will play each of the schools from the opposite division once to complete a 16-game schedule.

    “It’s going to be brand new for all of us except (assistant) Coach (John) Cranford,’ said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. “He has a little experience because he was at Liberty, so he has a little knowledge of some of these places. So lots of unfamiliar territory we’re going to be up against.

    “But at the same time, we’re painting that picture for our staff and the players, that it’s new challenges and new experiences, and an exciting opportunity to really establish something good for our program going into this new conference.’

    The Bears will host Lipscomb on Saturday, Jan. 8 in its first ASUN matchup at the Farris Center, as part of one of six doubleheaders with the Sugar Bears. UCA and Lipscomb last played in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., in March of 1990.

    UCA plays at Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.) on Jan. 13 and hosts UNA on Jan. 15. UCA and UNA were old opponents in the Gulf South Conference at the NCAA Division II level, playing seven times from 1993 to 2005.

    Jacksonville State (Jan. 20) and Liberty (doubleheader on Jan. 22) close out a three-game homestand at the Farris Center. UCA then embarks on a two-game road swing through The Sunshine State, playing at North Florida on Jan. 27 and at Jacksonville on Jan. 29. Both of those schools are located in Jacksonville, Fla. The other two Florida schools come to Conway for doubleheaders on Feb. 3 (FGCU) and Feb. 5 (Stetson).

    The Bears play at Kennesaw State on Feb. 9 and at Jacksonville State on Feb. 12 before hosting Bellarmine on Feb. 16 and EKU (doubleheader) on Feb. 19. UCA then closes out the regular season with road games at UNA in Florence, Ala. (Feb. 23) and Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. (Feb. 26).     

    The ASUN Conference Tournament (dates to be determined) will include all 12 teams and will be played on campus sites, with the higher seed hosting.

    “The competition in the ASUN is really good,’ said Boone. “It’s similar to the Southland in that there are some really strong teams. Liberty has been really, really good over the last few years. Lipscomb has had a really good program for quite some time, and Bellarmine has run a really good program for a long time. And of course, Florida Gulf Coast had their run in the NCAA Tournament a few years ago, and they have a really good program.’

    Boone said he and his staff and players are looking forward to the new challenge.

    “There will be lots of new challenges but it will be exciting,’ he said. “They’re going to be some good times, they’re going to be some frustrating times. But through it all, it’s still the game of basketball and we’re going to place most of the emphasis on ourselves and what we can do to be good.’

Conway – University of Central Arkansas pitcher Noah Cameron was taken in the seventh round by the Kansas City Royals in Monday’s Major League Baseball Draft.

Cameron, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound left hander from St. Joseph, Mo., is UCA’s 13th MLB draftee since 2011 and the fifth selected by Kansas City in the past four years. He is UCA’s fifth-highest selection (199th overall) in history and follows just a year after right hander Gavin Stone was drafted in the fifth round (159th) by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cameron, who played at Central High School in St. Joseph, located an hour from Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium, missed the 2021 season after undergoing arm surgery following the abbreviated 2020 season. He finished his freshman season in 2019 with a 6-2 record and a 2.95 earned-run average to earn Freshman All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball. He struck out 91 batters and walked just 19 over 94.2 innings and 14 starts. Cameron was a second-team All-Southland Conference selection and on the Academic Honor Roll as well.

In 2020, a season cut short by the pandemic, Cameron went 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA, striking out 31 and walking just two batters over 28 innings (second in the SLC) and four starts.

“I think Noah has all the qualities that they’re looking for,’ said UCA head coach  Nick Harlan, who was the Bears’ pitching coach for both of Cameron’s seasons in a UCA uniform. “He’s a big, strong, durable left-handed arm that throws three pitches for a strike. He has a strong arm, the ball jumps out of his hand and he locates his fastball and he locates a plus off-speed pitch. And he doesn’t give up a lot of free bases. He’s in the zone.

“He throws a heavy, heavy fastball. The ball gets on top of you and it’s a heavy fastball. He makes it uncomfortable for hitters. And he’s constantly ahead in the count. And when you can throw three pitches for strikes, and locate a fastball on both sides of the plate and you’re ahead in the count, you keep hitters guessing. So it’s a very uncomfortable at-bat.’

Harlan said Cameron was a huge factor in UCA’s run to the SLC championship game in 2019 as a true freshman.

“His resume was so good from 2019 and 2020, two really good years,’ said Harlan. “His freshman year was such an impactful year, such a significant part of what we did in ‘19, being one game away from the conference championship.

“And he was on track in ‘20 to do it again, and maybe even have a better year when we got shut down.’

Harlan said Cameron has the makeup, along with the ability, to be an MLB pitcher.

“He’s a big body, strong kid and kind of has an effortless delivery,’ he said. “He has a low heart rate on the mound. He has a plus changeup and he developed a really good slider. He gets ahead and then he has the stuff to put people away. That’s what he does, he earns the opportunity to strike people out and then he has the stuff to do it.

“So he has all the qualities that a professional team is looking for. I think Noah has a great opportunity to advance in professional baseball and one day be playing on TV.’

And his off-the-field intangibles may be the key, according to Harlan.

“Noah has the character to show up and to do it every day, and that’s what pro baseball demands,’ said Harlan. “He can do it consistently and he can be the same guy every day. He has the character to show up and work a process and pro ball absolutely demands that.’

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark — The Arkansas Activities Association will be moving the Regional Basketball Tournaments, the State Basketball Tournaments, and the State Basketball Finals back one week to allow conferences to finish their regular seasons and tournaments.

Due to the amount of COVID-19 cancellations during the regular season, a conference tournament may be needed for correct seeding into the regional and state tournaments.

The state basketball finals will still be played at the Bank of Ozk Arena in Hot Springs as scheduled.

New Tournament Dates

Regional Tournament Dates:

1A, 2A, 3A, & 4A – March 3-6

State Tournament Dates:

1A, 2A, 3A, and 5A – March 8-15

4A and 6A – March 9-13

State Basketball Finals: 

March 18-20

Waco, Texas – The second-ranked Baylor Bears nailed 13 three-pointers and had five players in double figures on Tuesday afternoon in a 93-56 victory over the University of Central Arkansas Bears at the Ferrell Center in both teams final non-conference tune-up.

Baylor (7-0) continued its hot hand from the perimeter against UCA, making at least 13 threes in all three meetings with the purple Bears over the past four seasons, including 18 last year.

UCA (1-7) kept pace from the three-point line, making 12 of 26 (46.2 percent) but shot just 35 percent overall.

UCA was playing its fourth Power 5 team of the season, was shorthanded Tuesday, playing without two starters, senior guard Rylan Bergersen and sophomore forward Khaleem Bennett, who were at home battling illness. Bergersen is UCA’s leading scorer both this season and last.

Sophomore point guard DeAndre Jones kept the Bears within striking distance in the first half with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, while hitting 5 of 8 from three-point range. As a team UCA was 8 of 15 from beyond the arc, but Baylor made 10 of 18 threes which led to a 53-35 halftime advantage. Jones finished with a team-high 19 points and made 6 of 9 from three-point range, the most by a Bear since Jones had six against Nicholls on Jan. 18, 2020.

“We certainly missed Khaleem and Rylan,’ said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. “But the guys that were here, they banded together. We told them, all-out effort. We have to be who we are, it doesn’t matter the circumstances. We can’t let it be because we’re playing Baylor and they’re No.2 in the country _ and I think they have a good chance at making a run at the national championship _ or whoever it is we’re playing, or we have guys not with us.

“Whatever the situation is, we have to do what we do, we have to be who we are. And for the most part our guys did that. I was pleased with our effort and their fight. It would have been easy to just come in here and lay an egg from the beginning. And our guys really fought, especially the first half.’

The Big 12 Bears, who finished 26-4 overall and 14-1 at home a year ago, pulled away from UCA in the second half. Baylor shot 55.9 percent from the field in the first half and an even 50 percent for the game. MaCio Teague led the Baers with 20 points, while All-American Jared Butler had 17 points and Jonathan Tchatchpoua had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Baylor entered the game leading the nation in three-point shooting at 47.3 percent and went 13 of 30 for the game, with seven different players making at least one.

“They played like we expected them to,’ said Boone. “We played pretty good defense, but when they’re open, we help on drives and they kick it out. And those guys knock them down. They’re a really good shooting team. And I think we shot the ball pretty good from outside, too. But it’s just they had the size also to go with it to get some of the points in the paint that they got, and we couldn’t finish some of our opportunities.’

Baylor outscored UCA 40-14 on points in the paint but UCA managed to keep the rebounding margin close as the home team won that matchup 43-35. UCA also turned the ball over 24 times, which led to 31 Baylor points.

The Bears will open Southland Conference play at McNeese at 4 p.m. Saturday in Lake Charles, La., then return home to host New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Farris Center.

Conway — Jalisa Outlaw led the Sugar Bears with a team-high 19 points in a losing effort as UCA fell to Little Rock 60-50 in the only matchup of the season in women’s basketball as part of the Governor’s I-40 Showdown on Wednesday night.

Outlaw started the game strong for the Sugar Bears by scoring the game’s first six points on back-to-back 3-pointers. Little Rock answered with a 9-0 run and made the score 9-6, in favor of the Trojans. The teams finished the quarter trading baskets as the game was tied 13-13 at the end of the period.

Outlaw continued where she left off in the second as she knocked down a 3-pointer and gave the Sugar Bears a 16-13 lead. After the score was tied at 21-21, the Trojans went on a 10-5 run and closed the half with a 31-26 lead.

“I’m very disappointed, I thought we had an opportunity to win. I thought we came out fighting and playing hard but it’s the same pattern over and over that we lose focus of our game plan if something doesn’t go right.” UCA head coach Sandra Rushing said. “We were out of sync offensively. We don’t know our offenses. I’ve got to do a better job of getting them understanding our offenses.”

At the half, Outlaw had a game-high 14 points while she shot 33.3 percent from behind the arc. Tori Lasker had two assists at the break and Briana Trigg, Jayla Cody, and Romola Dominguez were all tied with two rebounds each.

Outlaw knocked down a 3-pointer early in the third to pull the Sugar Bears within one, 33-32. After two made free throws by Little Rock, Dominguez drained a 3-pointer of her own and tied the game at 35-35, with 5:28 left in the third. The Trojans responded with a 5-0 run to close out the quarter and took a 42-35 lead into the final period.

UCA managed to pull within one on two separate occasions, the second on a jumper by Savanna Walker with 7:09 left in regulation. After Ayanna Trigg had the ball stolen from her, she did not give up on the play and ran down the Little Rock player and forced a turnover to give UCA some life.

The Sugar Bears managed to pull within five points with 1:29 left in regulation, but the inexperience of the team led to the Trojans extending their lead. Little Rock finished the game on a 5-0 run and claimed a 60-50 victory.

Bre’Amber Scott posted a game-high 24 points, with 16 coming in the fourth quarter alone. Brianna Crane was also in double-digits for the Trojans with 12 points. Mayra Caicedo collected a game-high six assists to lead the Trojans. Dariel Johnson brought down a game-high six rebounds.

Outlaw led UCA with 19 points, including a game-high four 3-pointers. Outlaw, Lasker, and Lucy Ibeh finished tied for the team lead with two assists. Ayanna Trigg and Ibeh led the Sugar Bears on the glass with four rebounds each.

The Sugar Bears look to bounce back on Friday, Dec. 18, as UAPB is set to make the trip to the Farris Center. Central Arkansas won the matchup, 74-70, earlier in the season.

“Moving forward, we just need to win. Just because we beat them (UAPB) on the road, doesn’t mean that we don’t have to prepare for them.” Rushing said. “We’ve got to come out and stick with the game plan. We are a very inexperienced team at the moment and it shows at times.”

By Mark Rico
Sports Editor

LITTLE ROCK — It didn’t come easy, but history rarely does.

Bryant outlasted North Little Rock 27-17 in a closer than expected victory in Saturday’s Class 7A championship game at War Memorial Stadium.

The win stamps Bryant as the first team to win three straight titles in 7A since Bentonville accomplished the feat in both 2014 and 2015.

A few years earlier, Fayetteville was able to string together a repeat in 2011 and 2012 and then went on to score back-to-back titles again in 2016 and 2017.

Bryant also became the first school to ever win three consecutive state championships in that classification their last loss coming in a regular season loss to NLR back in October 2018.

Pine Bluff was the last team to reel off three state titles in a row when they did so from 1993 to 1995.

“These guys have pulled together as a group and found a way to win 30 ballgames in a row and win three state championships.” Bryant head coach Buck James said. “My hat’s off to those kids, That’s a super job.”

Bryant (13-0), which averaged 46 points a contest through its first three playoff games, simply could not unleash its potent passing game against an NLR secondary anchored by Tavion Atkins and Marcus Stovall.

Instead, the Hornets leaned on the legs of senior tailback Tanner Anderson, who had 18 carries for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Anderson named Most Valuable Player.

The rest of Bryant’s senior class also contributed as three-year starter Austin Ledbetter finished 11-0f-16 passing for 127 yards and no interceptions, while Jamarien Bracey carried 14 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns in his final game as a Hornet.

A strong second quarter from Bryant forced the Charging Wildcats into a deep hole in their fifth consecutive state championship game appearance.

A couple of Ledbetter completions to Bracey (19 yards), Schrader (20 yards) and then to Anderson (15 yards) culminated with a 9-yard TD run by Bracey that gave the Hornets a 7-0 advantage with 7 minutes and 21 seconds left in the second quarter.

Anderson’s 7-yard TD run on the Hornets’ next possession extended Bryant’s lead to 14-0.

Then after Northwestern State commit Kareame Cotton was intercepted by Bryant’s Malachi Graham – who returned the pick 52 yards to the Charging Wildcats 10-yard line – Bracey would score from 10 yards out for the Hornets third touchdown and a 20-0 cushion.

NLR finally got on the board with an impressive eight-play drive on a 7-yard run by Fredrick O’Donald with eight seconds left in the first half.

But in a wild second half, North Little Rock managed to seize momentum as Cotton settled in and the Charging Wildcats began to make the most of their snaps.

O’Donald finished with two touchdowns on 18 carries, and his 15-yard score late in the fourth quarter pulled NLR within 20-17 with nine minutes to go.

NLR (12-2) would have a final drive stall late in the fourth quarter as Cotton’s pass intended for O’Donald on fourth-and-goal from the Bryant 8-yard line was incomplete.

From there, Bryant would take over on downs and the Charging Wildcats would not get another chance to possess the ball.

Although their three-year run will no doubt be forever cemented in the Arkansas High School football record books, the buzz has already begun about whether or not a fourth title is possible without a stellar senior class that has dominated the opposition over the past three seasons.

An undefeated junior class will test their mettle next year against strong opposition but has a great chance to supplant the current group.

North Little Rock, Cabot and Conway will again be roadblocks in Bryant’s attempt to secure a fourth consecutive 7-A title.

Yet, James still likes his chances to return to War Memorial next December.

“We got a chance to complete a four-peat.”

by Mark Rico
Sports Editor

CONWAY — The Conway Wampus Cats were able to unleash their full offensive arsenal in their surprisingly easy blowout of Little Rock Central during a second round 7-A playoff game while delivering one of the most exciting plays of the season in the process.

In an otherwise forgettable 49-20 victory over the Tigers on Friday night at John McConnell Stadium, Bohanon got free momentarily on a third down play, outleaped two defenders and then managed to barely keep one of his feet inbounds before falling out of the back of end zone for a spectacular 16-yard TD catch that drew ooohs and aahs from the John McConnell Stadium crowd.

Bohanon’s acrobatic touchdown grab extended Conway’s lead to 14-0 early in the first quarter and from that point forward, Central never stood a chance.

But junior Jamaal Bethune was the man of the hour, rushing for 279 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries – with scoring runs of 75, 78 and 31 yards – for the Wampus Cats, who will now advance to the state semi-finals against No. 1 Bryant on Friday night.

The two teams faced off just three weeks ago in a conference match-up with Bryant winning in a shootout 70-33.

Offensive coordinator Mark Kelley, who stepped into the head coaching duties for Keith Fimple (personal business) on Friday praised the fast paced Conway offense.

“We knew they had a really good front so we tried to spread the ball around and not depend on one guy.” Kelley said. “Big night for the running game, we made some big plays and it was nice to see a lot of guys getting involved. When you have athletes like Jamaal, Bryce and Manny (Smith) it’s good to just get them the ball in space because anything can happen.”

Bohanon also hauled in a 56-yard TD pass on Conway’s first possession of the contest, while Boogie Carr also caught 19-yard pass and then scored again on on 10-yard run in the final quarter.

Senior quarterback Ben Weese got several of his offensive teammates imvolved as he completed 17 of 31 passes, throwing for 288 yards and three touchdowns for the Wampus Cats.

Conway (9-3) played its best game of the season, manhandling Central (4-5) behind an offense that finished with 568 yards, 280 through the air.

The defense was solid, too, holding Central to 265 total yards and harassing Tiger senior quarterback Lawson Gunn into four sacks. The Wampus Cats scored on four of their first-half possessions to take a 27-7 lead at halftime.

“Our mentality was to come out and finish this game no matter what.” Bethune said. “Playing without Coach (Fimple) we had the same mindset. Not to lose focus and just be one point better than Central. My offensive line did a good job of opening up holes for me to run through.”

UT-Martin commit Samuel Franklin rushed for 98 yards pn 26 carries for Central. Gunn went 19-of-32 passing for 203 yards with a pair of touchdown runs.

Engelkes’ career night paces Greenbrier to first round win over Brookland 43-28

by Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Greenbrier – Senior receiver JP Engelkes scored a career high 3 TD’s – all in the first half – as Greenbrier started strong and then held off a late Brookland charge to secure a 43-28 opening round 5-A playoff win.

The Bearcats were playing in their first-ever playoff game minus 28 players who were in Covid-19 protocol.

Greenbrier (7-4) set the tone early by recovering an onside kick to open the game.

Engelkes would haul in a 24-yard scoring strike from Cooper Wilcox to open the scoring a few plays later.

And then, following a quick three and out from Brookland, the Panthers added another score on their next possession with reserve tailback Dawson Spencer – who subbed for injured starter Trey Havens out with a foot injury – scampering in for a 21-yard touchdown.

Nick Huett’s two-point conversion run pushed Greenbrier’s lead to 15-0 with 7 minutes and 39 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

Engelkes would also contribute two more touchdown catches to highlight an explosive first quarter that seemed to take the suspense out of the game early, putting Brookland in a 43-0 hole.

But the Bearcats came storming back to record the next four touchdowns and were dangerously on the cusp of closing within a touchdown before it was all said and done.

David York caught a 22-yard TD pass from Kolin Lamberson just before halftime to get the Bearcats on the board at 43-7.

From there, Wright would score on 21 and 12 yard runs and then Lamberson also found the end zone a short 3-yard quarterback sneak to pull the Bearcats within 15 points with 5 minutes and 47 seconds remaining in the game.

After a Panthers punt, Brookland advanced the ball to the 4-yard line but a costly fumble by Wright as he was sprinting into the end zone with under two minutes to play dashed any hopes of a miraculous comeback for the Bearcats.

Greenbrier will travel to Magnolia in the second round.

Brookland finished 3-7 on the season.

CONWAY STEAMROLLS SPRINGDALE 66-21
Senior quarterback Ben Weese completed 17 of 21 passes for 261 yards and six touchdowns as Conway throttled Springdale 66-21 in a first-round clash at John McConnell Stadium.

Conway is set to meet conference rival Little Rock Central next week at home in a quarterfinal game. The schools were scheduled to play Oct. 23, but were forced to cancel because of positive Covid-19 cases at Central.

Conway scored on each of its eight first-half possessions to build a 52-7 cushion at intermission.

Senior wideout Bryce Bohanon, junior tailback Manny Smith, sophomore tailback Boogie Carr, senior wide receiver Micah Mosby, junior wide receiver West Boudreaux and senior wide receiver Dillion Silverman-Barnes each caught touchdown passes for Conway in the rout.

MAUMELLE RACES PAST NETTLETON 19-7
Maumelle senior quarterback Jonathan Reyes’ eight-yard scoring strike to fellow senior Dashaire Ford-Burton in the third quarter broke a 7-7 tie and helped the Hornets post a 19-7 Conference 5A playoff win over Nettleton and will advance to face unbeaten Wynne in the second round.

Burton also had a game-clinching interception late in the final quarter for the Hornets (6-2).

Nettleton was competing for the first time in nearly a month after cases of Covid-19 within the program forced the cancellation of three previously scheduled games.

Scheduled match-ups with Forrest City (Oct. 23) Valley View (Oct. 30)and Wynne (Nov.6) were all scrapped and recorded as “No Contests” after a few players within the program tested positive for the virus.

Jaylon Smith rushed for 115 yards on 15 carries and scored the Hornets final touchdown on an eight-yard run late in the third quarter.

Reyes went 12-for-18 on the night while passing for 110 yards and a touchdown for Maumelle.

By Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Conway – Three plays into their homecoming game, the Central Arkansas Bears watched as their emotional leader on defense crumpled to the turf writhing in pain after making a tackle with a stunned Estes Stadium looking on in silence.

After junior linebacker Dre Matthews was carted off the field following an eight-minute delay with an season-ending knee injury, it only took Missouri Western four more plays to get on the scoreboard as Jared Scott banged his way into the end zone from a yard out.

The NCAA Division II Griffons led 7-0.

But UCA would quickly right the ship behind junior quarterback Breylin Smith – who tossed four touchdown passes in a dominating first half to pace the Bears (4-4) over Missouri Western 52-10.

Central Arkansas reeled off 38 answered points from that point forward – with Smith connecting with sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson for back-to-back touchdowns to close out the first quarter – one for 71 yards and then another for a 58 yards.

“After an emotional loss last week, you could have gone one of two ways with it,’ said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “We could have felt sorry for ourselves all week, but I thought our guys had the best week of preparation we’ve had all year. We took their best punch after they had a good return and punched the ball in early. But I thought we did a good job of sustaining and not panicking.”

Smith, who completed 17 of 23 passes for 283 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, also found junior Lujuan Winningham for a 32-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to push the lead to 21-7.

The UCA defense got in on the act just 16 seconds later when freshman safety TaMuarion Wilson forced a fumble and sophomore defensive end Logan Jessup scooped it in stride and 26 yards for his first career touchdown and a 28-7 lead.

Hudson caught four passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, while Winningham had three for 61 yards and another pair of touchdowns, giving him a team-high 11 for the season, which leaves him tied for third in school history with two games remaining on the slate.

Marshun Douglas rushed for 97 yards on just nine carries to lead UCA.

UCA’s defense held the Griffons (0-1) to 198 yards of total offense, and were held to 46 rushing yards on 31 attempts.

Missouri Western also lost its top return specialist Trey Vaval to injury in the first quarter, following a 66-yard return that set up the Griffon’s lone touchdown.

The Griffons lost four fumbles – one of which was returned for a 38-yard touchdown by sophomore Logan Jessup – to stretch the lead to 28-7 early in the second quarter.

After a sizzling start, Missouri Western could only muster eight yards of offense on 14 plays as UCA took it to another gear in the second quarter.

The Bears will host Eastern Kentucky after a bye week on Nov. 14 at 3pm in their final home contest of the season.

By Mark Rico

CONWAY – The Conway Wampus Cats know how to deliver big plays.

And senior Bryce Bohanon is usually right there in the mix when those game-changing plays come to fruition.

He was at it again in Conway’s 49-27 blowout of Little Rock Catholic in a Central 7A conference game Friday night at John McConnell Stadium.

Bohanon made the game’s most spectacular play when he caught a swing pass from Ben Weese and weaved through a host of defenders for 74-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.

He also had two more touchdown catches of 50 and 25 yards for during an explosive first half for the Wampus Cats.

Conway improved to 6-2, 3-1 in conference play. Catholic is 3-6, 1-5.

Weese – certainly in the conversation for all-conference honors with one regular season game remaining – had his usual good game. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 256 yards and four touchdown passes.

The Wampus Cat defense turned in their share of big plays with Traland McClure scoring on a 28-yard interception return with 4 minutes and 53 seconds left in the first half to give Conway a commanding 28-10 advantage.

While junior cornerback Ashton Waller’s fumble recovery set up Bohanon’s second TD catch and it was never a contest from there.

“This team has done a really good job of putting mistakes behind them, getting their minds straight and going on to the next play.” Conway head coach Clint Ashcraft said. “Bryce has done those type things for us all year and we depend on him and he’s got some help with guys around him by dispersing things around but he’s a dynamic player and I am glad he’s a Wampus Cat.”

After a slow start in which he tossed an interception on his team’s first possession of the game, Weese began to pick Catholic’s defense apart. He threw three touchdown passes to Bohanon, and also fired another scoring pass to senior Micah Mosby.

Trailing 10-7 in the first quarter, the Wampus Cats scored the next three touchdowns to take a 28-13 lead at halftime.

Running back Boogie Carr, a sophomore, also scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground to help Conway maintain a balanced attack.

As for the defense, the Wampus Cats were able to cash in a pair of Sam Sanders interceptions.

Sanders kept the Rockets in the game late, though, with a 48-yard scoring strike to Hank Hatfield and then added an 11-yard TD scamper of his own for the final tally of the contest.

“Our defense is growing and we have some young guys over there but at this point in the season we have to grow up.” said Ashcraft. “We have to quit giving up big plays like that but I think it’s one of those things where we have to keep working as we are going into it and we are going to do that.”

Conway travels to top ranked Bryant on Friday.

Richmond, Ky. – The Cardiac Cats fourth quarter magic finally ran out.

No. 11 Central Arkansas rallied to take a 28-24 lead over Eastern Kentucky with 1:21 left, but ultimately left too much time as Eastern Kentucky took less than a minute to drive 77 yards in eight plays for the game-winning touchdown with six seconds remaining to secure a thrilling 31-28 victory at Roy Kidd Stadium.

The Bears (3-4) scored twice in a three-minute span to overcome a ten point deficit and take a short-lived lead, but unfortunately left the door open for the Colonels, who were led in the second half by back-up quarterback Dakota Allen after an injury to starter Parker McKinney.

Eastern Kentucky (2-4) was aided by a pair of costly penalties by the Bears on the final drive – a late hit on the sideline and then a roughing the passer penalty – both of which kept Eastern Kentucky alive and afforded Allen the opportunity to connect with a surprisingly wide open Matt Wilcox for the clinching 21-yard touchdown.

“We’ve just been so accustomed to winning games like that, just tough late games,’ said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “Accustomed to making those big two-minute drives and (our) defense being on the field and making the plays late to make it happen. It just caught up to us tonight, and credit goes to Eastern Kentucky.

“You either got two ways to go from it, you either learn from it and get better from it, or we’ll just continue to be a good football team. We’re trying to push to be a great football team and we still have some ways to go.’

UCA’s go-ahead drive definitely looked familiar for a team that has come from behind to win nine of its last 19 games, including last week’s road victory over Missouri State.

Trailing 24-14 late in the fourth quarter, UCA junior quarterback Breylin Smith found junior receiver Lujuan Winningham for a 46-yard TD pass with 4:35 remaining to cut the lead to 24 -21.

Then after a quick three-and-out from Eastern Kentucky, the Bears took over at its own 37 with 3:03 on the clock.

Smith completed a 50-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson, who was brought down just a few yards short of the end zone.

Two plays later, Smith took it in from two yards out on a quarterback keeper to give UCA a 28-24 advantage on what appeared to be the winning score with 1:21 left in the contest.

But as it turns out, the Colonels had one final scoring drive left in them.

Following back-to-back incomplete passes and a third-down run by Allen that came up a yard short of a first down, an untimely late hit penalty gave Eastern Kentucky new life at midfield.

From there, the Colonels were able to convert a fourth-and-1 at the UCA 39 thanks to a critical roughing the passer call on Central Arkansas which gave them another first down at the UCA 21.

On the following play, Allen would find Wilcox behind two Central Arkansas defenders for the final tally.

“Credit to their backup quarterback, he came in and led them to a second-half victory.” said Brown. “It took us a drive or two to get used to what they were trying to do. They started really running the quarterback with some designed runs and some zone reads. He did a good job. He’s a big kid, a physical kid and he did a good job running the football.”

Eastern Kentucky cashed in a pair of Bears miscues for a 17-7 lead at intermission.

“We turned the ball over in the red zone early in the first quarter, we had a touchdown called back because of a penalty in the first quarter,’ Brown said. “Both of those hurt. And then on that final drive, we had 30 yards of penalties that really gave them the opportunity to keep the drive alive. But credit goes to Eastern Kentucky. They had poise, they stayed with it and made big plays in the end.”

Winningham, caught nine passes for 103 yards and his team-high ninth touchdown of the season.

While Hudson had seven receptions for 106 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Smith completed 30 of 45 passes for 320 yards for two touchdowns and was intercepted twice.

“They’re both just playmakers,’ said Brown. “Breylin trusts them, they got into some matchups, we took advantage of some of their corner play. That gave us an opportunity to drop the ball down the field to them and they made plays when it mattered.”

The Bears will finally return home for the first time since Sept. 26 next Saturday when they host Missouri Western for Homecoming.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadiuim.

“We’ve been six of our first seven games on the road,’ said Brown. “It’s been a difficult run but we knew what we signed up for. Our guys are ready to get home for the next two football games.’

Jonesboro – The University of Central Arkansas women’s golf team started the season at the Lady Red Wolves Classic at Sage Meadows Golf Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on Monday. The Bears are tied for third with a combined score of 588 (+12). Tania Nunez paced UCA with a mark of 144 (E) and is in seventh place.

Nunez started the day off with a birdie on the par-4 10th. After a birdie on the par-5 18th, she birdied three of the next four holes and finished round one tied for second with a 69 (-3). After a slow start in round two, she collected back-to-back birdies on the par-5 third and the par-4 fourth. She posted a second-round tally of 75 (+3) and has a two-round score of 144 (E). She is currently in seventh place.

Pear Rittawee and Camila Moreno are tied for 13th with a two-round effort of 147 (+3).

Rittawee birdied three of the first four holes on the front nine and added a birdie on the par-4 10th to finish round one with a 73 (+1). She birdied the par-4 second and the par-5 third and posted a second-round tally of 74 (+2). She moved up three spots in the standings after round two.

Moreno notched a birdie on the par-5 15th early in the first round. She added birdies on the par-4 first, par-4 sixth, and the par-4 eighth to finish the round with a mark of 71 (-1). She birdied the par-5 15th for the second time on the day in the second round. She collected a birdie on the par-5 third and finished round two with a 76 (+4).

Pim-Orn Thitisup and Elin Kumlin finished the day tied for 35th with a two-round score of 151 (+7).

After a slow start in the morning round, Thitisup birdied the par-4 first in the second half of the first round. She added a birdie on her final hole of round one on the par-4 10th and finished with a tally of 76 (+4). In the second round, she birdied the par-5 15th, par-5 third, and the par-4 eighth. She notched a second-round score of 75 (+3). She rocketed up 12 spots on the leaderboard at the end of day one.

Kumlin birdied the par-4 12th and the par-4 fourth in the first round of the day. She posted a round-one mark of 75 (+3). She followed that up with 16 pars on the second round and produced a score of 76 (+4).

The final round begins at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Team Standings

1. South Alabama – 576 (E)

2. Troy – 587 (+11)

T3. UCA – 588 (+12)

T3. Arkansas State – 588 (+12)

T5. Chattanooga – 595 (+19)

T5. Western Kentucky – 595 (+19)

T7. Southern Illinois – 599 (+23)

T7. Middle Tennessee – 599 (+23)

9. Missouri State – 603 (+27)

10. Houston Baptist – 604 (+28)

11. UAB – 605 (+29)

12. BYU – 608 (+32)

13. Southern Mississippi – 615 (+39)

14. Little Rock – 622 (+46)

15. Stephen F. Austin – 630 (+54)

Jonesboro – Nate Jolly led the Central Arkansas men’s golf team on day one of the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate with a 146 (+2). The Bears finished Monday with a team effort of 595 (+19) and are in sixth place at Ridge Pointe Country Club.

UCA started the day on the 10th hole.

Nate Jolly got the day started with birdies on the par-5 13th and the par-3 15th. On the 15th, Jolly nearly holed his tee shot and was able to make the short birdie putt. He finished the first round with a 74 (+2) and was tied for 24th. He was on fire to start round two, as he birdied three of the first five holes. He added birdies on the par-3 17th and the par-4 first. Jolly recorded a 72 (E) for the second round and moved up five spots into a tie for 19th with a total of 146 (+2).

After a slow start to round one, Davis Irving made a spectacular chip on the par-3 fourth. His ball was 10 feet off of the green between two green-side bunkers. He was unfazed by his position and chipped it in for a birdie and gained momentum on the remaining five holes. He picked up a birdie on the par-5 fifth and the par-4 ninth. He produced a first-round mark of 74 (+2) and was tied for 24th. He collected a birdie on the opening hole of the second round, before he added two birdies on the par-5 sixth and the par-4 eighth. He posted a second-round tally of 77 (+5) and is tied for 31st with a 151 (+7).

Josh Turnock is tied for 35th after he had a two-round score of 152 (+8). After he started the day with a 78 (+6), he bounced back with a 74 (+2) in the second round. He tallied birdies on the par-5 10th and the par-4 14th during round two.

Blaine Calhoon started the first round with a birdie on the par-5 10th. After a double-bogey on the par-4 second, he was resilient and drove the green on the par-4 third. He nearly drained the long eagle putt, but left the putt short for an easy tap-in birdie. He closed out the morning round with birdies on the par-5 fifth, the par-3 seventh, and the par-4 ninth. He finished the first round with a score of 73 (+1) and was tied for 19th. Like the first round, he birdied the first hole of the second. He recorded the Bears’ lone eagle on the par-5 sixth and posted a second-round score of 79 (+7). He is tied for 35th with a mark of 152 (+8).

Jakob Lemieux opened the day with a 77 (+5) with a birdie on the par-5 13th in round one. In the second round, he added birdies on the par-5 fifth and the par-3 seventh. He posted a second-round tally of 78 (+6). He finished the day with a two-round score of 155 (+11) and is tied for 43rd.

Miles Smith opened the day with an 87 (+15). He battled back on the second round and birdied the par-5 13th. He added another birdie on the par-3 seventh and finished the round with a 74 (+2). He moved up four spots into a tie for 59th with a two-round mark of 161 (+17).

The third and final round is scheduled for an 8:34 a.m. start time for the Bears on Tuesday.

Team Standings

1. Arkansas State – 542 (-34)

2. Texas State – 565 (-11)

3. Abilene Christian – 578 (+2)

4. UT-Arlington – 584 (+8)

5. Oklahoma Christian – 593 (+17)

6. UCA – 595 (+19)

T7. Stephen F. Austin – 603 (+27)

T7. Houston Baptist – 603 (+27)

T7. Missouri State – 603 (+27)

10. Southern Illinois – 609 (+33)

Little Rock – Two first half goals from Louisiana proved to be too much for UALR to overcome as Little Rock (1-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) dropped a 2-0 decision to the Ragin Cajuns (6-3, 3-2 Sun Belt).

Despite an active Trojan squad producing several opportunities, they were ultimately unable to follow through on those chances.
 
“I thought we were the better team especially in the second half but it’s just not going our way at the minute,” said UALR head coach Mark Foster. “The challenge is for the girls to keep their head up, rebound and come back and make sure the next one goes our way.”
 
“The soccer’s been brilliant this season,” he added. “We’ve seen some really good passes and moving, some great build-up play through the thirds, and the team is coming together to create lots of opportunities.”
 
The closest chance for Little Rock came early in the second half, as the Trojans came out of the halftime break visibly firing on all cylinders.

However, once again the woodwork was not in favor of the Trojans as Peyton Laughley – Little Rock’s offensive leader of the night with two of her six shots on target – made an attempt from the right side that hit high on the top crossbar. 
 
“I lost count of how many opportunities we had,” said Coach Foster. “But we’ve got to make our own luck. We can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves. The harsh reality of soccer is they had a couple of chances and took theirs, and we weren’t able to take ours. It shows how cruel the game can be and how clinical it can be. It’s no good saying we dominated possession if we didn’t score.”
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns netted both of their goals in the first half, giving Little Rock a large mountain to climb in order to get back in the game.

In addition, Louisiana’s freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Starwood was a notable obstacle for the Trojans this evening, grabbing a game-high eight saves. Her agility beat some of the Trojans out when the home team was able to break through the Cajuns’ defense and get in range.
 
Louisiana’s Gwen Mummert scored the first Ragin Cajun goal in the 26th minute after the second of back-to-back Louisiana corner kicks. The ball soared into the center, bouncing to a fellow Cajun just outside the inner box and then Mummert powered the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
 
With a minute to go in the first half, one of the Louisiana forward Grace Champagne was able to shake off the defense to center her pass and set up Lizzie Mayfield for a lobbed arc from fifteen yards out that curved up and over the Trojan defenders and into the right side of the net. 
 
Little Rock returns home to the Coleman Sports Complex on Thursday when they host undefeated Arkansas State (7-0, 6-0 Sun Belt).

Conway – Central Arkansas will get a chance to expand on its season as the Southland Conference announces a spring volleyball season.

UCA will get a chance to compete in conference play as they initiate a part two to their season as they will compete in both fall and spring seasons.

This schedule shift will begin for the Sugar Bears Feb. 4 as they start their conference slate at Houston Baptist.

From that point, they will take part in a 12-match seven-week regular season.

This regular season will lead up to an end of the year conference tournament.

The No. 1 seed will host the SLC tournament, as only the top four teams will compete in the postseason tournament April 2-3.

The NCAA Tournament selections are scheduled to happen Apr. 4, with the first matches set for Apr. 8.

UCA hosts six different teams at home and travels for another six matches.

The Sugar Bears will play every team in the conference during that span.

UCA will play every game on Thursday and Saturday, besides at McNeese State (Feb. 23) and at Northwestern State (March 2), which will happen on a Tuesday.

If scheduling conflicts arise, coaches can agree to postpone games, but only if both sides agree to the postponement.

The Sugar Bears will host their first home game in this new format, Feb. 11, when they host Incarnate Word.

Compiled by Jason Ybarra and Mark Rico

St. Joseph’s remains unbeaten in 2-A Central with a pair of wins
The St. Joseph’s Lady Bulldogs remained unbeaten in Conference 2A Central play with a four set win over Maumelle on Tuesday (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 27-25) and a three set sweep of Quest Academy of Little Rock (25-6, 25-19, 25-8) to complete a perfect week on the court.

Olivia Williams pounded a game-high 17 kills and Presli Webb added 15 for the Lady Bulldogs in the win at Maumelle while Lydia Humphrey and Webb paced St. Joseph’s against Quest with three kills apiece.

Yet, with the conference tournament fastly approaching, head coach Luke Davis is just hoping his team can continue to improve and tighten up things before the regular season concludes.

“We played about as sloppy as we could.” Davis said. “It is too late in the year to continue having days like this.”

St. Joseph’s (10-3, 5-0) will travel to Conway Christian on Tuesday, Oct. 6 and then host a pair of non-conference foes on Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Southwest) and Thursday, Oct. 8 (Atkins).

Conway sweeps Bryant and then falls to North Little Rock in 6-A Central action to remain tied in conference standings
The Conway Lady Cats began the week with a three set sweep of Bryant (25-18, 25-11, 25-18) on the road on Tuesday.

Madison Holloway belted 10 kills and added three blocks while Abby Masters contributed 18 assists for Conway (7-2, 6-1).

Karis Scott had 17 digs and four aces for the Lady Cats.

But on Thursday, Conway fell in straight sets to North Little Rock (23-25, 30-32, 19-25) to fall into a statistical tie for the top of the 6-A Central standings with the Charging Wildcats (8-2).

Both Naomi Young and Holloway registered seven kills apiece in the loss while Masters and Olivia Wiedower tallied 13 assists each.

Kennedi Wyrick contributed 13 digs and two aces for Conway (7-3, 6-2).

Conway will host Southwest next Tuesday night in the regular season finale.

Greenbrier falls to perennial power Greenwood
The Lady Bulldogs fell in four sets in perennial power Greenwood (25-23, 14-25, 23-25, 16-25) in other high school volleyball action.

by Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Conway – After postponing the last seven games due to health issues, UCA is ready to resume their season after dropping two highly competitive matches in Nacogdoches to start the season back in early September.

UCA’s season was halted back on Sept. 10 after 12 volleyball players and a few staff members of their staff tested positive for COVID-19.

The Sugar Bears will travel to Springfield to take on Missouri State (1-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday with an opportunity to get back in the zone as they face a relatively new opponent in Missouri State.

The two teams met only once in 2012 with Missouri State securing a thrilling five set win.

In their last outing against Texas State – the two-time defending Sun Belt champion – redshirt senior Amanda Beaton set a career-high with 24 kills while fellow senior Bailey Waddington tied her career-high with 51 assists.

Senior Emily Doss is a key defensive specialist for this squad as she leads the team with 3.22 digs per set.

The front line duo of junior Ravin Rhodes and senior Amari Mitchell has been spectacular in the early going for UCA.

Rhodes currently sits at five blocks on the season, while Mitchell has contributed three.

Missouri State – coached by former UCA head coach Steven McRoberts – are led by sophomores Brooklyn Chink and Kennedee Anderson along with freshman Caly Otec.

In the Bears’ lone game on the season against Little Rock on Sept. 19, Chink pounded 20 kills with Anderson compiling 37 assists and Otec contributing 14 digs.

“We are very excited to finally get back to competition after being away because of COVID protocols,” UCA head coach John Newberry said. “We will be traveling a smaller crew for this game and will look completely different. It will be a whole new team dynamic on the road that we will have to adjust to quickly.”

UCA is scheduled to return home on Friday, Oct. 9 at 4pm against Stephen F. Austin in their first action in Conway of the 2020 season.

By Mark Rico

Conway – Late in the third quarter, the Central Arkansas found themselves in familiar territory.

But they finally got things in gear when it mattered most.

Tyler Hudson’s 57-yard punt return coupled with Dre Matthew’s 30-yard fumble return on defense helped propel the No. 11-ranked Central Arkansas Bears over Missouri State 27-20 in their home opener at Estes Stadium.

The Bears win came on a night when they only could muster 177 yards of total offense and once again trailed for much of the contest.

Mired in a 20-7 hole midway through the third quarter in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 2,500 onlookers starved for football, the Bears managed to score three touchdowns in a span of two minutes late in the third quarter and early fourth period to record their eighth comeback victory over the past 16 games.

Hudson had two of the scores – one a 7-yard touchdown grab from junior quarterback Breylin Smith with 1:24 mark in the third quarter – along with the spectacular punt return in which he weaved his way through traffic down the middle and broke free for the final 30 yards with 14:11 to play.

Sandwiched in between Hudson’s two touchdowns, junior linebacker Dre Matthews turned in the play of the game, with a 30-yard scoop-and-score fumble return that knotted the game at 20-20 with 14:48 remaining.

While the Bears defense, stellar all night, forced three consecutive incomplete passes by Missouri State and then Hudson did the rest.

It was UCA’s first punt return for a touchdown since Tremon Smith returned one 47 against Arkansas State in 2016.

With the top FBS team in the nation looming on Saturday on the road in North Dakota, Central Arkansas head coach Nathan Brown kept the win over a one win team in 2019 in persceptive.

“We have to wipe the slate clean.” said Brown. “We did not play a good three quarters. In fact, that was probably one of our poorer performances for three quarters that I’ve been a part of. But again, it just shows the resiliency of our football team, different guys stepping up, different guys making plays when it mattered. And just believing. At the end of the day, it’s about belief.

“Football never goes to script, it never goes to plan. We talk about that every day. That’s why we do different stuff in practice, to practice for games like this. But our guys believed and they found a way to win the game. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see the belief these guys have in our team. We look bad at times. We were down 20-7, on offense we didn’t play our best game. Special teams had blunders, but the defense kept us in the game throughout. We know any win is a good win, especially at this point in a season like this, so we’re excited about it.”

Hudson had four returns for 83 yards and caught four passes for 62 more yards while UCA’s No. 1 receiver Lujuan Winningham was shut out as Smith completed just nine passes for 79 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

The Bears also had a punt blocked that Missouri State returned for a touchdown to give them an early 10-0 lead.

But from there it was the Central Arkansas defense that kept the Bears within striking distance by limiting a Missouri State coached by former University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino to 293b yards of total offense.

MSU quarterback Jaden Johnson – a transfer from Southern Mississippi – completed 25 of 44 passes for 249 yards but no touchdowns.

UCA’s defensive unit recorded 16 tackles for losses, had nine sacks and forced four fumbles and one interception.

“The defense, oh my gosh, what a great game plan,’ said Brown. “I thought we had their quarterback off balance all night. They gave him a tough time in the pocket all night. They just did a great job. Coach (Chad) Williams dialed up the right blitzes at the right time and guys made big tackles, big stops when it mattered. And offensively, we made enough plays when we needed to.”

The visiting Bears (0-2), who lost to Top 5 Oklahoma in their opener two weeks ago, got on the board first after a 47-yard field goal by Jose Pizano with 12:04 left in the first quarter.

Arkansas took six possessions to finally answer MSU’s score as senior tailback Kierre Crossley cashed in a fumble recovery by linebacker Malik Wilson, with a 4-yard touchdown midway through the first half that drew the Bears within 10-7.

But a late MSU touchdown on a 3-yard run by Keshun Parker with 4:02 left extended the lead to 17-7 at the break.

“They did a great job mirroring Lujuan all night, they took him away,’ said Brown. “They did a good job of that. But that’s why you have a Tyler Hudson on the other side. Breylin showed some poise, I thought Kierre had some big runs, Cameron Myers had some big runs. And we did enough to win the game.”

The UCA defense turned in another big stop when MSU sophomore tailback Cameron Myers fumbled at the UCA 26 with 6:21 to play.

The Bears held on a fourth-and-4 at the UCA 7, and then again on a fourth-and-2 down at the UCA 28 with 1:28 remaining. UCA took over and ran the clock out the rest of the way.

“The scoop and score was the biggest play of the game,’ Brown said. “Dre did a great job. We coach that on defense, we coach to strip the ball, try to produce turnovers. But also, I don’t want the offense back on the field. People don’t realize how fast Dre is. And he did a great job, being athletic and getting his weight down and scooping the ball as opposed to falling on it. And then getting in the end zone. That was huge.”

UCA faces another Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) team next Saturday in three-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

STAFF REPORTS

Conway – The University of Central Arkansas will be on “The Stripes” one more time this fall, it was announced Monday.

The Bears will host the Missouri Western Griffons on Saturday, Oct. 31 at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The UCA-MWSU matchup gives the Bears 10 scheduled football games, with three home contests. 

“We are excited to be able to host another team in Estes Stadium on First Security Field,’ said Dr. Brad Teague, UCA’s director of athletics. “The more we can play on this beautiful Central Arkansas campus is important for our student-athletes and fans.  

“I am happy about this opportunity especially since the Eastern Kentucky game moved to November 14. It’s nice to still have a game on October 31 to maintain our Homecoming date.’ 

Missouri Western is an NCAA Division II team that competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Bears and Griffons have never met in football.

The Bears, who will host Missouri State in their home opener at 7 p.m. Saturday, will now play three home games.

UCA is currently scheduled to face Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 14.

Little Rock – UALR combined for ten blocks and limited Missouri State to just a .200 hitting mark but still dropped a 3-0 decision in the competitive season opener for both teams at the Jack Stephens Center on Sunday afternoon.
 
It would be the defensive adjustments from Saturday’s exhibition that were most notable for the host Trojans (0-1), forcing 20 hitting errors by the visiting Bears (1-0).

But Missouri State was able to finish late, withstanding a Little Rock run in a tense second set that ended 27-25.
 
Freshmen Nicole Medlin and Zanobia Willis each registered five blocks for the Trojans while Laura Jansen slammed home a team-high 12 kills.

Brooklyn Cink paced Missouri State with 20 kills.

WEEK 3 SCORES
Bentonville 35, Shawnee (Kan.) Mill Valley 28
Bryant 44, Trinity Christian, Texas 40
FS Northside 28, Moore, Okla.21
LR Catholic 35, Benton 28
North LR 35, West Memphis 0
Rogers 43, Springfield (Mo.) Central 14

CLASS 6A
Greenwood 23, Choctaw, Okla. 12
Lake Hamilton 38, Hot Springs 28
LR Parkview 28, Pine Bluff 6
Magnolia 27, El Dorado 23
Mountain Home 49, Batesville 45
Sheridan 36, Jacksonville 18
Vilonia 28, Russellville 23

CLASS 5A
Centerpoint 42, De Queen 7
Clarksville 37, Pottsville 14
Forrest City 24, Helena 20
HS Lakeside 21, Malvern 14
Pulaski Academy 31, Virginia Life Christian 20
Rivercrest 40, Brookland 23
Texarkana 35, Warren 21
Trumann 35, Paragould 0
Watson Chapel 22, Camden Fairview 17
Valley View 56, Bald Knob 24
Hope at Prescott canceled

CLASS 4A
Booneville 43, Mena 12
Dardanelle 34, Clinton 14
Fordyce 23, Monticello 22
Glen Rose 42, H.G. Haskell 20
Greenland 50, Berryville 28
Hamburg 41, Drew Central 6
Heber Springs 42, Dover 6
Lamar 54, Carlisle 18
McGehee 28, Blytheville 0
Newport 47, Lonoke 19
Ozark 54, Charleston 21

San Marcos, Texas – The University of Central Arkansas Bears rolled to a 2-0 non-conference victory over the Texas State Bobcats on Friday night at the Bobcat Soccer Complex.

UCA (2-1) scored both of its goals in the second half after outshooting Texas State (0-4-1) 8-3 in the first half.

The Bears made the most of their chances in the second half as sophomore Abby Gibson (Magnolia, Texas) scored in the 46th minute off assists from Gracie Hair and Hadley Dickinson.

UCA then made it 2-0 in the 71st minute when junior Taylor Webb (Lindale, Texas) found the net, assisted by Kirsten Rumbold and Zoe Van de Cloot.

Gibson and Webb each scored their first goals of the season as UCA outshot Texas State 15-9 with seven shots on goal.

UCA junior Reagan McCombs (Aurora, Colo.) finished with three saves for the Bears.

UCA returns to the pitch at 1 p.m. Sunday in non-conference action against fellow Southland Conference foe Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The Bears are back at home next Thursday when they host ULM at 7 p.m. at the Bill Stephens Complex.

Thursday’s Scores
St. Joseph’s defeated Riverview 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-22)
Kills: Presli Webb 9
Assists: Maggie Mooney 8
Blocks: Olivia Williams, Webb both with 1
Aces: Williams, Webb both with 4
Digs: Amy Lambe, Mooney both with 1
Records: St. Joseph’s (6-1, 2-0)

Conway defeated Central 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-12)
Kills: Kennedi Wyrick, Naomi Young each with 10
Assists: Abby Masters 22
Blocks: Kaylon Neal 3
Aces: Wyrick 4
Digs: Karis Scott 10
Records: Conway (5-4, 4-1)

STAFF REPORTS

Conway – Because of player unavailability among the Arkansas State University football program, the game between the University of Central Arkansas Bears and the ASU Red Wolves scheduled for Saturday in Jonesboro has been postponed.

The Bears and Red Wolves will now meet on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Centennial Bank Stadium.

UCA was scheduled to play Eastern Kentucky on that date but has moved that game to Saturday, Oct. 24 in Richmond, Ky.

“During these unique times, these situations are bound to occur,’ said Dr. Brad Teague, UCA’s Director of Athletics. “We have seen it across the nation. We were definitely ready and looking forward to competing against the Red Wolves, but we absolutely understand that the health and wellness of our student-athletes has to guide all our decisions. We certainly wish the best for ASU’s football team and look forward to traveling to Jonesboro on Oct. 10 for an outstanding in-state matchup.’

In a statement issued by ASU Athletics, the game was postponed “due to Arkansas State being unable to assemble a full two-deep depth chart at a specific position group due to player unavailability.’

Central Arkansas (1-1) is coming off an open date and will now host Missouri State on Saturday, Sept. 26 on “The Stripes” at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m for the Bears’ home opener.

By Mark Rico
Sports Editor

Maumelle – It may possibly be another rebuilding year for Maumelle this season, but if everything goes according to plan, the Lady Hornets should be able to find themselves in a stronger position down the road.

The Lady Hornets lost six starters to graduation from a year ago, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that they can exceed expectations and be successful this season.

“When Covid-19 halted practice it was tough.” Maumelle second year head coach James Pearson said. “Workouts for my players were going great but after March 16 I utilized google meet to interact with the players at least two times a week. I might have given them a reading assignment and ask for a reply or just meet for a few minutes just so I could see their faces and ask if everyone was okay. The main reason was to keep them connected.”

Maumelle returns a junior laden squad that features dual All-State/All-Conference selection outside hitter Taylor Ammons from a competitive team under Pearson.

Along with Ammons, the Lady Hornets will have a slew of experience returning to the court in fellow juniors middle blocker Nicole Barr, defensive specialist Jana Bracken, right side hitter Lillian Hill, libero Jaden Newman, middle blocker Taryn Smith and outside hitter Miriam Strecker.

“Our last season did not go as planned, it was my first year as head coach and the girls took a long time buying into my philosophy.” Pearson said. “We started 1-5 and then I guess the light bulb went off with many of them because they finished 3-1 and earned a berth in the 5A State Tournament. I expect this team to be a lot better this season because they know what I expect and they have really put in the work.”

Although the Lady Hornets will certainly have a tough conference schedule to navigate, there is plenty of talent that could blossom over the season.

Sophomores Alyssa Diaz, Trista Dillard. Shiann Dollarhide. Haylie England, Gabriel Robinson and AiYanna Tombs will all gain another year of battle scars in Pearson’s system and will also be counted on heavily to contribute.

The rest of the team will be underclassmen who will have to gain experience quickly in order for the Lady Eagles to be competitive.

“We have experience returning as there are six juniors who contributed last year and three sophomores who all played at the end of last year.” said Pearson.

While old conference foes White Hall, Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel have exited the league, they have been replaced by three volleyball powerhouses in Little Rock Christian Academy, Benton (2019 5-A state runner-up) and Beebe.

“The conference is a beast because Benton is the state-runne rup and LRCA and Beebe are no slouches.” Pearson said. “It will be a tough year.”

Although they will be young, nearly every one saw plenty of varsity action last season for the Lady Hornets and that experience should pay off.

The 6A Central Conference is loaded with heavy hitters including defending conference champion Sylvan Hills, in addition to Jacksonville, Little Rock Parkview and Little Rock Hall.

“The entire conference will be exciting this season.” said Pearson. “If we play like I know we can we will have a winning record.”

Maumelle (2-0) will open conference play at unbeaten Little Rock Christian Academy on Tuesday night.